Hi
gardeners
Don’t tell me deer won’t eat daffodils. After the deer ate the tulips I planted in a
bed way out at the edge of our yard last year I decided to plant some daffodils
out there last fall for spring color.
Daffodils are supposed to be deer proof and I’ve never noticed deer
damage to them before. But on my walk
this morning I found that the daffodils which were about bloom out in that bed
had been eaten to the ground. There were
deer tracks in the soft soil around the beds so there is no doubt what
happened.
Now there isn’t any real need for the deer to eat
daffodils to survive around here. The grass is long and lush, the wheat field
across the street is being grazed every night by them. Green leafy shoots are
everywhere. But they ate the daffodils
anyway. Just for fun, I guess. I hope they are sick, very, very sick. In fact, I hope they are dead, but I doubt
that happened. So, there’s another thing
I can’t count on to be deer proof. I
have to start hunting deer I guess; someone has to get their numbers down.
Where things are protected, I have daffodils, tulips,
trilliums, bloodroot, windflowers, pansies, violets, corydalis, hyacinths and
creeping phlox in bloom. The apricot tree is in bloom and I can see color on
the redbud. The sweet woodruff is
starting to bloom. Mayapples and lilies
of the valley are sprouting, as are all the hosta and lilies. Dandelions and the ground ivy are blooming
like crazy and I am now seeing honeybees as well as bumble bees on them.
The weather was beautiful this past weekend and I was
able to get a lot done. I planted kale, romaine
lettuce, spinach and potatoes. I planted
all my dahlias out directly into the ground. I have pots near the sprouted ones
so I can cover them tonight as we may get frost. I potted up some tender summer bulbs I received
too.
I also planted seeds for zinnias, cosmos, tithonia,
marigolds and bachelor’s buttons in my butterfly bed. And I finally got the
live Christmas tree my son got me, a little fir, planted in its permanent home. It’s May so I try to plant something every day.
We were able to get most of the lawn mowed despite a
lawnmower that kept quitting. There are some spots that are too wet to mow. It
makes it difficult when the grass keeps getting longer but the mower gets stuck
in the soft soil. And I got the bamboo
cut down too. It comes back from the
roots and I use the old canes for plant stakes.
Inside the tropical hibiscus are blooming and the
peace lily has a flower. The geraniums
on the porch are blooming like crazy. All the houseplants are taking a growth
spurt. Mary Helen my “special” plant is
getting huge. I am trying to find a way
to raise her grow light again. Those plants really do grow like a weed.
The orioles, bluebirds, wrens and hummingbirds are
all back and helping to empty the various feeders. I see the wren is already
building a nest in one of the little wren houses. I left the back door to the
barn open so the swallows could come back to their old nest in the rafters.
We have had a lot of rain here but so far today we
escaped with just a trace. The clearing weather could bring us frost tonight
though. Across the country rain and
storms have been a problem this year.
Farmers are delaying planting.
Except for a part of West Texas, it looks like drought conditions are
pretty much gone across the country. Be
weather wise gardeners, keep an eye on the weather forecast this time of year
as it changes rapidly. It could save
your garden – and your life.
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| Corydalis |
May
almanac
May is the true beginning of the garden season here,
when things get a bit busy as gardeners rush to plant before it gets too hot
but try to avoid the frost. The full moon is May 18th and
appropriately enough it’s called the flower moon. Other names for May’s full
moon are mother’s moon and milk moon- because new mothers and their milk are
everywhere. Moon perigee is the 13th and apogee of the moon is on
the 26th. The Eta-Aquariid meteor
shower peaked on May 5th, but meteors can still be seen through May
26th.
Mother’s Day is the 12th, and Memorial Day
is the 27th. These are some
of the biggest sales days that greenhouses have, and May is almost synonymous
with at least one trip to buy flowers. It’s May, plant something every
day! It’s good that Memorial Day is late
this year because it’s a date many people use to signify it’s safe to plant
everything, in planting zones 5 and 6.
But beware- frost can still happen after that, although it isn’t likely.
May Day, May 1 and Cinco de Mayo, May 5th,
have passed. May 8th is World
Red Cross day and Iris day. The 16th
is Love a Tree day. The 29th
is Learn about Composting day and the 30th is Water Your Flowers
Day.
May is National Barb-b-Que month, National Salad
Month, National Egg month, National Hamburger month and National Date your Mate
month. May is also Older Americans month, Bike Month, National Skin Cancer
Awareness month and Blood Pressure Awareness month.
May’s birth flower is the Lily of the Valley. It signifies sweetness and humility. (But
remember its poisonous). It also means a
return to happiness and you are supposed to give them to people you find
complete happiness with. The birthstone
is the emerald which is a symbol of re-birth. The month name of May is derived
from the name of the Greek goddess Maia, associated with fertility.
May
folklore
There are two sets of notable days in May folklore.
The first is Chilly Saints days, named for the Saints Mameritus, Pancras, and
Gervais. The days are the 11th,
12th, and 13th and it is said that these days will be
cold and frosty. In 2018 the 11th certainly was, we had sleet. However, the 12th and 13th
were sunny and mild.
The second set of folklore days is the Ember
days. May Ember days are the 22nd,
24th and 25th. On
the 22nd the weather predicts the weather for June, the 24th
predicts July weather and the 25th predicts the August weather. Example: if it’s cold and wet on the 22nd
of May the month of June is supposed to be cold and wet. Let’s see how that
worked out here.
In 2018 May 22nd was cloudy and average in
temperature. June 2018 was cloudier than
normal, but temperatures seemed normal.
May 24th, 2018 was sunny and hot. July 2018 was hot and drier than
average. May 25th, 2018 was sunny
and hot. August 2018 was about average
in temperature and rain. So, the folklore predictions were great for June 2018,
July looks like it was pretty accurate too. August 2018 was fairly close I
guess.
In folklore May’s full moon is said to be a great
time to harvest any medicinal herbs that are growing for their maximum potency. Just remember there is no science that
supports planting or harvesting by the stage of the moon.
Patience,
patience, it’s a virtue in gardening
I was driving to town and saw a woman carrying a
large peace lily outside. A spider plant was hanging on her porch. Now, maybe she was getting ready to clean the
carpet and would be bringing them back inside later. But here in zone 5 it’s much too early to be
moving houseplants outside for the
season. It might be fine in zone 7,
maybe even 6b, but north of these zones – lower zones- it’s probably still
going to frost or get down below 40 degrees, which most houseplants can’t
handle. It should stay above 40 degrees
even at night before its safe to move most houseplants outside. Some very tender plants need even warmer
temps. And remember – shade at first
then for most houseplants partial shade or filtered light.
The weather is unsettled over a great part of the
United States this spring and even if it seems warm, I’d worry about wind, hail
and heavy rain wrecking the houseplants outside. Let storm season calm down
before moving those plants out.
It’s also early in zone 5 and lower for planting bedding annuals and buying tender
tropical plants for the patio. Let the
greenhouse care for them a bit longer. Mother’s Day is this Sunday and
greenhouses will be filled with hanging
baskets and containers of annuals, but it doesn’t mean it’s safe for them
to be outside. If you buy those pretty baskets do be prepared to bring them
inside or cover them if frost threatens or if high winds are predicted.
Also don’t be too quick to give up on plants which
don’t seem to be leafing out. Things
like buddleia, hardy hibiscus, catalpa trees, and other things are just slow to
come up or leaf out when its still cool. Many times new gardeners miss the tiny
leaf buds on some plants or think that because the top growth of a plant was
killed over winter that the plant is dead. Many things that look dead will come
back from the roots.
Before yanking out a plant or cutting it down be
patient and give it a few more weeks. Sunshine, rain and warm temps can do
miracles if you give it time. Examine
plants that look dead carefully. Are there
shoots coming up at the base of the plant?
If you scratch a stem do you see green?
Are the stems flexible and do they bend instead of snap? Give the plant some time.
And if you are getting antsy because it’s May and you
think the planting the vegetable garden must be planted now, please read the
article below.
A
wet spring may mean a delayed planting season
Across a wide part of the country we have had an
unusually wet spring. There are flooding
conditions across many states. Farmers generally
know enough to stay out of wet fields, but gardeners sometimes don’t realize
the real damage they do to soil when they try to plant before the ground is
ready. The time to plant is not by the
calendar, the time to plant is when soil conditions are optimal for your
crop. A crop planted when the soil
conditions are favorable for it will be healthier and more productive even if
it is planted later than it normally is planted.
When we talk about optimal soil conditions, you might
think we are talking about planting seeds, particularly vegetable crop
seeds. But flower seeds also need
optimal sowing conditions. Planting
seedlings such as tomatoes and peppers and various annual flowers into the
garden should also be done when soil conditions are right.
Even perennials and trees can be harmed if the soil
is too wet when they are planted. While moderately
moist conditions are ideal for planting these things, waterlogged soil that
rots the roots is not. Different plants have different tolerances for soil
moisture. Know what conditions each
plant species needs and don’t plant them if the soil isn’t right for them. And even if the soil moisture level is right
there may be other reasons to delay planting.
Walking on or using equipment on wet soil compacts
it. This can make it harder for air to
enter the pore spaces in soil and plant roots need air to grow well. Seedling roots need to be able to easily move
through the soil and compacted soil makes this difficult. Compacted soil and soil worked when it is too
wet tend to crust and crack when they do dry, which also make unfavorable
growing conditions. This soil damage can
last through the entire season and maybe even into the next year or longer.
Wet soil is generally cooler soil and the combination
of wet and cold soil makes it a struggle for seeds to germinate and grow. Struggling plants are susceptible to disease
and pests. Wet, cold soil can make some
plant nutrients such as nitrogen unavailable to plants, even when they are
present. This makes seedlings look yellow or sometimes have a reddish or purple
tint, indicating nutrient deficiencies.
These nutrient deficiencies can stunt plant growth and reduce yield even
after conditions improve.
Some soils stay wet longer than others. Clay soils and soils high in organic matter
stay wet longer than sandy soils. Soil on higher ground usually dries out
sooner than low lying garden areas.
Raised beds dry out faster than other garden areas. So, when you can
safely work in the garden can vary even in the same general area, maybe even in
your own yard.
Important safety note: if your garden area has been covered by flood
water that water may have carried some harmful pollutants with it. Sewage, oil and various chemical contaminants
may be in flood waters. Growing edible
crops in the soil after the water recedes might be harmful. Contact the local Extension office, soil
conservation office, or your county health department for advice in this circumstance. They may have answers for you or be able to
refer you for soil testing for pollutants, which is different from a normal
soil test.
The old test for knowing when soil is ready to be
worked is to pick up a handful of soil and squeeze it, then open your hand. If
the soil stays in a claylike lump, it’s too wet. If it crumbles apart it’s probably fine to
begin planting. Of course, if there are puddles on top of the soil, or if you
dig a hole and it fills with water the soil is too wet.
To see if soil temperature is right for your crop you
can use a soil thermometer or even a common air thermometer if you can find one
that’s not digital that can be poked 4 inches into the soil. There are optimal soil temperatures for each
type of crop but soil temperatures above 40 degrees are where one can start
planting most cool weather crops.
Good gardeners know it’s not best to forge ahead with
planting when the soil conditions- and air temperatures- aren’t optimal just
because the calendar indicates it’s the usual time to plant. Under poor soil
conditions and cold temperatures seeds will be slow to germinate and transplants
may stop growing. Crops planted a bit later
than normal, but when conditions are better, often quickly make up for lost
time and are soon at the proper stage of growth for the season.
If your garden season is delayed quite a bit you can
do like farmers do, and plant varieties that mature faster. Most vegetable crops and some flowers have
cultivars that are quicker to bloom or get to harvest stage than other
varieties. And for crops you normally
would grow from seed sown in the ground you may be able to find greenhouse
grown transplants to plant instead, saving you a few weeks of time.
Patience is a virtue- and it can pay off very well
for gardeners who practice it.
Sandhill
cranes as pests
Did you know that sandhill cranes are considered to
be an agricultural pest? They like to
live in agricultural fields near water and they hunt for grubs and bugs in the
fields, which is a good thing. But it
seems they also like seeds, especially corn seeds, and they will pull up
sprouting corn to eat the kernel attached to the sprout. If there are a lot of
cranes in the area a lot of damage can be done to fields.
MSU is recommending farmers with sandhill crane
populations treat their seeds with a product called Avipel. It’s supposed to taste bad but not harm the
cranes. The alternative is to get
permits to kill them, which is a terrible pest control strategy for these
pretty birds, or to use sound “cannons” which is a terrible alternative for the
neighbors of the field.
Gardeners probably won’t have trouble with sandhill
cranes but if you do, ask a farm service store if they carry Avipel instead of
using other things to harm the birds. If
a farmer near you is using other methods to discourage cranes you may want to
suggest the product to them.
Should
you rotate garden crops?
If you grow vegetables and small fruit you may have
heard that you should rotate where you plant each type of crop each year, or
every few years in the case of fruits.
Rotating crops helps prevent disease and nutrient deficiencies in the
soil. But is it necessary in a small
garden, where space is at a premium? The
answer is while you can grow crops in the same spot each year it’s still a good
idea to rotate them, even in small gardens.
Different crops use nutrients in the soil in
different amounts. The same crop in the same soil every year soon depletes some
nutrients. Some crops, like peas and
beans actually add nitrogen to the soil and a crop that likes a lot of nitrogen,
such as corn, benefits from being planted in that spot the next year. And some
diseases and pests can overwinter in the soil. These are the reasons farmers
rotate crops and why gardeners should rotate them too.
In my own vegetable garden, I use raised beds. Every year I change the bed where I plant
each crop so that it is in a different bed than it was the year before. This may not be ideal for disease prevention,
since the beds are in close proximity to each other, but it helps. I amend the soil in the bed each year depending
on what crop I plan to grow in it.
For example, the bed where I will plant sweet corn will
get a high nitrogen fertilizer worked into it before planting. (Corn needs lots of nitrogen but most other
vegetable crops do not.) Last year
tomatoes grew in the bed where the corn is going this year. The tomatoes will
be grown in the former corn bed. The vine crops and potatoes will switch beds
this year. Onion and pepper crops will
switch beds.
In general, when rotating crops try to avoid planting
a crop in the same related group where one grew the year before. Peppers, tomatoes and potatoes are a related
group. Cabbage, broccoli, and
cauliflower are a related group. Root
crops like carrots, parsnips, beets, onions and radishes aren’t technically all
related but are treated as such for rotation. Leafy greens of various types are
a group. Vine crops like melons,
cucumbers and pumpkins are another group.
Strawberries should be replanted in a fresh bed every
3-5 years. Don’t save plants, buy new
certified disease-free plants. You may
want to start the new bed a year before you rip out the old, since it takes a
year for optimum production. Technically you are supposed to remove any flowers
from strawberries the first year you plant them. This keeps your strawberries healthy
and productive.
If you have a problem with raspberries getting
diseases buying new plants and putting them in a new bed some distance from the
old may also help. Grapes and blueberries
are best left alone for as long as they are productive.
If you have ever noticed that you have a beautiful,
lush garden the year you first plant it, it isn’t beginner’s luck. It’s good fresh soil full of nutrients. Most vegetable crops are greedy feeders. If you can actually rotate the site of your
whole garden every few years that would be great for the soil and your garden
crops. Leave the old garden site fallow- or plant a cover crop on it or even
let it revert to meadow or lawn.
It’s a lot of work to make a new garden plot though
and if you favor raised beds it’s hard to make this change. Many people just
don’t have the room to do this. So, most gardeners will need to amend their
garden plot each year with lots of organic matter like compost and aged manure
and get soil tests to see what nutrients may be depleted in their soil and add
them accordingly.
If you can plan your garden so that one bed is always
left unplanted every year, that also helps.
Sometimes in a larger vegetable garden cover crops in the fall can help.
These are tilled under in spring. If you
prefer no till gardening cover crops can be a problem though. I find them impractical for small gardens and
gardeners often have a hard time choosing the right cover crop and finding a
source for seed for it.
Keep records of what was planted where every year so
you can rotate crops. Even in a small garden crop rotation can help you have a
better garden.
Links
you’ll like
Is your asparagus
coming up, but you wonder about harvesting it?
Are you planting asparagus this spring and need to know more about
it? Read this article about asparagus.
Are you experiencing mole problems this spring?
Don’t fall for all the myths about mole control, learn the facts with
this article;
Want to grow strawberries
this spring? This link will help.
Corydalis
is an underused spring blooming plant.
Learn about it here.
Can
you plant just one fruit tree and get fruit?
A question that I am asked frequently is whether a
gardener can plant just one fruit tree and still get fruit. The answer is – it depends. Some types of
fruit trees have pollination requirements that makes planting just one tree a
poor choice. This pollination requirement may need to be considered when you
have limited space to grow fruit trees.
Apples, pears, sweet cherries, and some plums and one
or two varieties of peaches or apricots need two trees of different varieties
nearby to make fruit. Sour or pie
cherries, and most peaches, nectarines and apricots will self- pollinate- you
don’t need two trees. Nearby usually
means within 500 feet. If a neighbor
has a similar fruit tree you may not need two of that kind. For apple pollination some ornamental
crabapples or wild trees growing along roadsides can provide pollination. (The fruit will not be affected by this cross
pollination.)
Two trees of the same variety of apples, sweet
cherries, and plums or even closely related varieties will not pollinate each
other. That means you should not plant
two McIntosh apples if there are no other apple tree varieties nearby. Read catalog descriptions to get an idea of
what tree varieties will pollinate each other.
As a tip, Golden Delicious apples are good pollinators for almost all
apple varieties. Gala and Red Delicious
pollinate each other, Red Delicious and McIntosh are also compatible,
HoneyCrisp and CandyCrisp can be pollinated by Jonathan or Gala apples.
Bartlett pears are good pollinators for most other
pears. Any two different pears will
generally pollinate each other. European
type plums like Damson and prune plums do not need another pollinator but
Japanese type plums do. Pie type
cherries are generally self- pollinating and one variety of sweet cherry called
Stella is also self- pollinating. Sweet
cherries can also be pollinated by tart cherries; you may want one of each.
Pawpaws need two varieties to set fruit.
Persimmons are self-pollinating.
You don’t need two trees of the same size for
pollination- if you don’t have room for 2 semi-dwarf apple trees for instance-
you could plant a dwarf variety and a semi-dwarf. Or for apples, maybe you could plant a small
ornamental crabapple in another location in the landscape.
More
plant shoots ID pictures
See the last two blogs for more pictures.
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| Bleeding Hearts |
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| Stinging nettles |
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| Lemon balm |
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| Burdock |
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| Brunnera or False forget me not |
A difficult road often leads to a beautiful destination
Kim Willis
All parts of this blog are copyrighted and may not be used without
permission.
And So On….
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welcome)
Newsletter/blog information
I write this because I
love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my
research each week (or things I want to talk about). It keeps me engaged with
people and horticulture. It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If you
are on my mailing list and at any time you don’t wish to receive these emails
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notification by email when a new blog is published have them send their email address to
me. KimWillis151@gmail.com
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